SRI LANKA'S SCHOOLS NEED A CLEAR MECHANISM OF DISCIPLINE

Sri Lanka's Parliament has taken a historic step. The Penal Code Amendment of July 2025 bans all forms of corporal punishment of children - not only physical violence but also psychological humiliation, however slight.

- By Mohan Lal Grero

For the first time, a teacher scolding a student, a prefect striking a classmate, or a principal shaming a child in public can lead to fines and/or imprisonment.

This is a landmark for child protection. No child should suffer cruelty in the name of discipline. Yet, while the amendment has noble intentions, it raises a pressing question: how can schools maintain order and respect in classrooms if no clear alternative mechanisms of discipline are legally recognised?

There are recurring challenges: Bullying in every form, Disruption of classes, disrespecting teachers, cases of theft, and Fights in the playground. Students are skipping classes or leaving school without permission. Even sexual harassment of younger students by older ones. In some instances, students use drugs, smoke, consume alcohol, or engage in public displays of affection that are culturally unacceptable in Sri Lanka. But the school is now uncertain whether to implement the above disciplinary system with the ambiguity of the new Penal Code Amendments.

On October 2, 2025, Lankadeepa Newspaper reported on an assault on a teacher by a student, three students intoxicated by illicit liquor and a few students narcotised by swallowing drug globules (Math Guli) in Monaragala District alone.